From butts to puffs: Europe grapples with electronic cigarette waste

by Silvia Martelli (Il Sole 24 Ore), Gianpaolo Sorgi (Voxeurope, France), Ana Somavilla (El Confidencial, Spain) and Ieva Kniukštienė (Delphi, Lithuania)

For decades, the symbol of tobacco consumption was the cigarette butt: small, ubiquitous, difficult to dispose of. Today, however, a new, more complex and potentially more dangerous type of waste is appearing in European cities: disposable electronic cigarettes.

Coloured, cheap and designed to be consumed quickly, so-called ‘puffs’ contain plastic, electronic circuits, chemical liquids and lithium batteries. A combination that turns them, at the end of their use, into real electronic waste. And while the public debate focuses mainly on the effects of vaping on health – particularly among teenagers and the very young – environmental alarm is growing in parallel.

Many devices end up in municipal bins or directly in the street, instead of being disposed of in dedicated e-waste circuits. The consequences range from the dispersion of polluting materials to the risk of fires in waste treatment plants caused by damaged lithium batteries.

Faced with the rapid spread of single-use e-cigs, several European countries are starting to take action. Some, such as Belgium and France, have chosen the path of a ban. Others are strengthening collection and producer responsibility systems. In the background, a common question remains: how to handle technological products designed to last a few days, but destined to leave a much longer environmental footprint?

France is one of the countries that has taken the hardest line. With a law of 24 February 2025, Paris banned the sale, distribution and even possession for commercial purposes of pre-filled and non-refillable disposable electronic cigarettes.

However, the measure does not introduce a specific collection system for these devices: e-cigs remain covered by the general legislation on electronic waste and batteries. In practice, the devices have to be delivered to the normal col…

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From butts to puffs: Europe grapples with electronic cigarette waste